Roosevelt University, with its ascendant athletics program and Custom-Built MBA option, has allowed Camden Schuchaskie to seamlessly merge his interests in sports broadcasting and business. As the Lakers transition to an NCAA Division II program, no student has worked harder to promote the teams’ success than Schuchaskie.
The MBA candidate and aspiring sports broadcaster produces livestreams, podcasts and social media posts that tout student-athlete success, and he’s witnessed the Lakers teams flourish in real-time. He’s also able to balance his producing responsibilities with a full slate of business classes, and he credits Roosevelt’s faculty and staff for helping him combine his passions while still in school.
“Being able to gain this much practical experience in a field I’m passionate about while learning from great business minds is a complete credit to Roosevelt,” he says. “This is a special institution where the faculty and staff genuinely care about your goals and offer opportunities to make them achievable.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in Communications, Camden knew he wanted to remain in Chicago. He’d grown up in the small town of Potterville outside of Lansing, Michigan, and moving to Chicago allowed for easy access to every global sport. The lifelong Detroit Tigers fan was interested in storytelling at an early age, and sports broadcasting is a career path that excitingly blends narrative with the unpredictability of live events.
But Camden also wanted a solid foundation of business skills, and Roosevelt’s Heller College of Business allowed him to learn how closely the sports and business worlds are intertwined. After reaching out to Roosevelt’s sports information director Josh Walfish, Camden was able to simultaneously apply for the University’s MBA program and his current role as “Graduate Assistant—Broadcast & Video Operations.”
The Graduate Assistant role has allowed Camden to hold many position required by a professional sports broadcast crew. For basketball or volleyball games held at the Goodman Center, he sets up the cameras, manages the YouTube livestream and provides insightful play-by-play and color commentary. He also hosts the weekly “Makin Waves” podcast alongside Lakers announcer Tom Wuestenfeld, where the pair discuss results from every Lakers competition and interview coaches in the University’s podcast studio.
“Being able to do all this while I’m still in school is invaluable,” he says. “I’m able to understand the technicalities of a broadcast and also polish my interviewing skills with professional coaches. That I can do this while also getting a great graduate-level education is something no other school could offer.”
Camden balances his Graduate Assistant responsibilities with a full slate of business classes, which he credits for rounding out his professional skillset before he enters the job market. He particularly thanks Jennifer Muryn for encouraging his progress and suggesting Management as a specialty in Roosevelt’s many Custom-Built MBA paths.
“I had come from a communications background,” he says. “So having people support me in areas like finance and accounting that I was less familiar with has really helped me balance my work and school life.”
The benefits of remaining in Chicago have been also invaluable beyond Roosevelt’s academic support system. “I grew up in a pretty small town that was very homogeneous and where you saw the same people every single day,” Camden says. “Here in Chicago, the diversity of the people and neighborhoods means I can meet someone new or learn something new every day, and that’s reflected in the students and staff at Roosevelt too.”
As he prepares for an exciting fall season that includes football, cross country and women’s volleyball, Camden is thankful he found a school that allows him to combine his lifelong passion with practical experience.
“Roosevelt has been an amazing experience so far,” he says. “I’m able to get experience in the field I’ve dreamed about since I was young and take advantage of an incredible academic staff, all while living in one of the greatest cities in the world.”
